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Liveblog: Satoru Iwata's GDC 2009 Keynote

9:24 a.m.: In the prototype phase, Miyamoto tries to break down the idea of what makes something fun. It's a huge trial-and-error process.

9:25 a.m.: Sometimes that prototyping phase can take up to two years. Sometimes Nintendo has to scrap the idea and come back to it. For Miyamoto, prototyping is the key to his approach.

9:26 a.m.: Once he's figured out the prototyping process, he begins working on the mass production stage.

9:27 a.m.: He finds it odd that after looking up to Miyamoto as a mentor, he's now Miyamoto's superior. It's a double-edged sword. He's cautious not to ask for constant updates, because it might put pressure on the team and reduce quality.

9:28 a.m.: It drives him nuts at times, because he can't accurately predict when the team will finish a game and begin generating revenue.

9:29 a.m.: Miyamoto tries not to snap at team members. Because the team prototypes so much, there's less need to go back and scrap a game when it hits the mass production phase. Sometimes things still don't work. In those cases, elements are removed. But they're never completely discarded. Iwata says that these elements are key to Miyamoto's design philosophy.

9:30 a.m.: For example, Nintendo executives hoped that Nintendogs would launch with the DS. They also hoped Super Mario Galaxy would be ready for Wii launch. Although neither did, Miyamoto still managed to get Wii Sports out in time for Wii launch.

9:31 a.m.: Iwata jokes that the audience is probably tired of hearing Miyamoto stories. He cites a funny story from 20 years ago in which Miyamoto kidnapped a few employees within the company to work on a project. The "victim" was given a controller and told to have fun. He believes that a game should be fun and intuitive enough to play.

9:33 a.m.: Iwata calls Miyamoto's philosophy the "over the shoulder" approach. The idea is that the developer can't show up to every gamer's house to help them through it. It should be intuitive enough to get through. If the gamer is frustrated, the developer has failed.

9:34 a.m.: If the gamer is frustrated, it's not the consumer's fault, says Iwata: It's the developer's fault.

9:35 a.m.: Iwata cites a talk with J-pop star Tsunku, who had an idea for a game. Iwata put Tsunku in touch with Yoshio Sakamoto (Wario Ware Touched!) and Kazuyoshi Osawa (Wario Ware Twisted!). The question was raised: How can a rhythm game be developed, when the developers don't have much rhythm?

9:36 a.m.: Roll a video of dance lessons. The audience laughs at the room full of developers practicing.

9:37 a.m.: "It was the first time I had to approve dance lessons in the budget."

9:38 a.m.: Ultimately, the team was shaved down to a core five developers, because that was all that was necessary to make the original Rhythm Heaven on GBA. That didn't mean that the other members were discarded.

9:39 a.m.: Because the DS had already launched when Rhythm Heaven came out on GBA, Iwata explored the possibility of bringing the game to a global audience.

9:40 a.m.: It was an even smaller team on the DS version. The trial-and-error process took a year to decide on the touch and flip controls.

9:40 a.m.: When it came out, Rhythm Heaven didn't enjoy huge sales. It began to grow slowly. Iwata believes that everyone should experience the game for themselves, so everyone in attendance will get a copy upon leaving. Lots of applause for that.

9:42 a.m.: Iwata cites Guitar Hero, Spore, and World of Goo as three games that approach gaming differently. Three million Wii owners hadn't owned a game console prior to buying the console.

9:43 a.m.: NPD indicates that 47% of new DS owners last year were women. But existing gamers have been supporting the industry for years, and they're just as important as new customers.

9:44 a.m.: With Wii, Nintendo took the responsibility of balancing the needs of core gamers with the new audience. He cites Virtual Console, Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros. as games designed to satiate the ardent gamers. Virtual Console represents a huge opportunity for third-party publishers.